Ramsey ready to return, and with a new contract

By Tony Attwood

So we’ve just had the news about Per and Tomas, and now it is on to Aaron Ramsey who is not just about ready to return to the squad (although not for the FA Cup match) but also is ready to sign a new contract. Or, given that because of other commitments I’m having to write this a bit ahead of publication, maybe he already has signed and the story is out.

The story is (and of course we just have the media news on this) that it is a five year deal making him the second highest paid player at the club. That must be something of an annoyance to all the AAA who endlessly said that he was useless, and by extension Wenger was useless. They said it time, and time and time and time again. So often it got boring.

The talk is of a new contract of over £5,500,000 a year. Only Mesut Özil earns more – and I see the AAA have got their knives into him too.

Aaron Ramsey was nowhere near the end of his last contract that was signed in December 2012 – it had two more years to run. He’s now 23 so the new deal in theory lasts until he is 28. If he carries on as he has played this season he should sign another contract aged 25 or 26.

It is also possible that Aaron will go to Munich and get a bit of a game there – as a warm up to a full return to the squad. He might even come on with Arsenal 0-2 up on the night, and saunter through the Bayern defence to score the winner.

Well, you never know.

But there is a bigger message here – a message that no only contradicts the notion that Arsenal always let their top players go, but also shows how Arsenal can spot real talent and bring it through.

He cost us, oh, what was it, err, well, £5,000,000. A £5m repaid this season alone, even with all the time out for injury. And oh how Man U must have wished that they had been an awful lot smarter.

For Man U were certain they had signed 17-year-old Aaron Ramsey in 2008. For on 6 June 2008 the club announced “Ramsey fee agreed”, and spoke of their delight at the deal which now depended only on “personal terms and the passing of a medical”. And how cared about personal terms. It was only another kid.

Peter Ridsdale, one of the biggest turnips in the history of agriculture, was chairman of Cardiff City (you have to feel sorry for that club) and he was the one who valued Ramsey at £5 million. Arsenal and Everton both agreed but the Ridsdale said, “We would prefer it if Aaron signed for Manchester United to be honest, the simple reason being that, from our perspective, we want him to come back on loan to Cardiff next season.”

David Moyes was also sad, bleating a bit later, “I had him in my house, but Arsenal beat me to it.”

Aaron turned Everton down flat, and of Man U said that Arsenal’s record with young players was better. Sir Alex F Word denied this in his autobiography – but since the autobiography has been proven to include at least 42 factual errors (the publishers will return your money if you have one and complain that it is inaccurate) we needn’t worry too much about that assertion.

Later Aaron said he felt more wanted at Arsenal. “They had a plan set out for me and knew exactly how they wanted to develop me.”

Arsenal of course stand by their men. Shawcross’ criminal assault on Ramsey which fractured his fibula and tibia goes down in history as a crime that was not properly punished, and the booing of Ramsey by Stoke City fans says an awful lot about the club and its supporters.

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Ramsey however comes through it all.

He was injured in the 3-1 victory at West Ham United on Boxing Day and the problem got worse when he came back to training in January.

15 comments to Ramsey ready to return, and with a new contract

What about WENGER’s contract?! Do you guys know anything? Amazes me that more isn’t being made of the fact that he appears not to have signed yet. I have my own thoughts but I’d like to know what Untold may think / know…..

I do hope that its true and we have tied him down on a long term deal .While it may be too premature to ask too much of him of what remains of this season ,it would be a statement of intent for next season.
A solid core of British and Arsenal trained youngsters with whatever additions to the present team while be a great preparation for seasons to come.
Up the Gunners !

A handsome young man and a beautiful girl met and it was love at first sight. They immediately got married and went on their honeymoon. On their wedding night, the bride went into the bathroom to freshen up.
Unfortunately, she had a case of bad breath so severe she had to take a powerful drug to control it. She was about to take the drug when she decided it would be best to let her husband in on her secret since they would be spending the rest of their lives together.
So she returned to bed without taking the drug.
Her husband then went into the bathroom to freshen up. He also had a problem with foot odor so offensive it required a special preparation to keep it under control. He was about to apply the preparation when he decided it would be better to let his wife know about his problem because she would find out about it sooner or later anyway.
He skipped applying the preparation, returned to bed, grabbed his wife and gave her a big kiss.
She said, “Honey, there’s something I have to tell you.”
“OK,” he said, “but I already know what it is… you ate my socks.”

Resting in the hospital after the birth of our third child, I thought I would finally get a chance to finish reading Boris Pasternak’s famous novel, Doctor Zhivago, and had it handy on my bedside table.

When the student nurse came in, it caught her eye and she looked at it skeptically. “If you want the real low-down on baby care,” she said confidentially, “you can’t beat Doctor Spock.”

Many women are afraid of their first mammogram, but there is no need to worry. By taking a few minutes each day for the week preceding the exam and doing the following practice exercises, you will be totally prepared. And best of all, you can do these simple practice exercises right in the privacy of your own home.

Exercise #1: Freeze two metal bookends overnight. Strip to the waist. Invite a stranger into the room. Press the bookends against one of your breasts. Smash the bookends together as hard as you can. Repeat with the other breast. Set an appointment with the stranger to meet next year and do it again.

Exercise #2 Open your refrigerator door and insert one breast between the door and the main box. Have one of your strongest friends slam the door shut as hard as possible and lean on the door for good measure. Hold that position for five seconds. Do this again in case the last time wasn’t effective enough. Then repeat with the other breast.

Exercise #3 Visit your garage at 3 a.m. when the temperature of the concrete floor is just perfect. Take off all your warm clothes and lay comfortably on the floor with one breast wedged under the rear tire of the car. Ask a friend to slowly back the car up until the breast is sufficiently flattened and chilled. Turn over and repeat for the other breast.

I’m really pleased for Aaron and for Arsenal, I am however, a little worried that le Boss’ contract hasn’t been finalized. Is Wenger waiting to see what happens in May? Might he walk away if we don’t win the FA cup, CL and PL? Will the AAA hound him out finally?

Slightly off topic: Good for our club that Per, TR7 and Rambo extend their contracts. It shows Arsenal are not only capable of buying big, we also can retain our best players. Securing players on lomg term is good for consistency.

Imho, AW may just want to ensure that players movements won’t cause distractions during his new contract tenure before signing it.

@Brickfields Gunners,
While I enjoy your entries and hope they continue, I must take issue with you over your mammogram joke which I think went rather too far. Those females reading it, as well as the husbands of those NOT reading it, will not have appreciated the humour surrounding an important medical examination, which most females are encouraged to have done at some time in their lives. And which most regard with some trepidation.
Hope you regard my remarks in the spirit in which they are made.

@ Nicky – Having had diagnosed , investigated and also treated cases of breast cancer during my time in the government service , as well as its consequences ,I understand the seriousness of the disease and was in way poking fun at it.
Some of the funny and very descriptive comments made by women patients and friends who underwent mammograms would make a grown man blush (in fact it did !)!
Like most doctors ,I use humour to overcome the everyday stress and futility that we very often encounter.A form of defence mechanism .To us its commonplace , but to an outsider it may seem crass and tasteless .
While taking your comments in the right spirit which they were made , in my defence , here I have to claim that I don’t make up the jokes , I only repeat them !
Sometimes in trying to titillate , one makes a boob of oneself !
Cheers !